Linking Landscape Fires and Local Meteorology ─ A Short Review

Abstract

Fires burning on 18th January 2003 generated a series of cumulonimbus clouds that probably exacerbated a fire that reached suburban Canberra. Powerful whirlwinds were generated, at least one of which might have been a genuine tornado. We briefly review the development of plume theory over the last fifty years and a potential atmospheric stability index that may assist in the identification of conditions that are conducive to extreme fire behaviour in the environment. This information can assist in deciding the location of future monitoring stations.